At the end of 2011, Ed Korczak, who served as the executive director and CEO of the National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) for more than 15 years, will retire. After searching for the perfect fit to bring the association into the future, the committee settled on Michael Martin. Martin most recently served as vice president of the National Association of Electrical Distributors and has experience with budgets, communications and websites and public relations. Martin spoke with FCW's Emily Cappiello about how his part experience is going to benefit him in his role at the NWFA and how he hopes to shape the organization for the future.

Q: Tell us a little bit about your past experience and why you think that you are a good fit for the NWFA.
A: Nearly 20 years ago, I started working in the association world, spending the last 14 years with the National Association of Electrical Distributors, which, like NWFA, is a trade association based in St. Louis. During the years, I've managed tradeshows, published award-winning magazines, launched association websites, and overseen national public awareness initiatives for an organization very similar to NWFA in structure.

Q: What are some of the things you are hoping to implement as executive director?
A: The NWFA has a strong set of programs and technical training products specifically designed for the wood flooring industry. In order to serve as a one-stop source for training, we plan to supplement our technical courses with additional business training on profitability, operations, sales, marketing, and human resources.

In addition, as the workday becomes more dependent on technology, we want NWFA to become the source for expertise whenever, and wherever a member needs it. While our technical support call center is great for jobsite questions during regular business hours, opportunity exists to bring technical guidance to our members at all times. With the advance of electronic readers and smart phone applications, NWFA has an excellent opportunity to make its installation guides and other resources available in the field at all times.

Q: Korczak set a good foundation. What are some of the things that you are hoping to continue?
That's a great questionÃ.‚¬bCrLfand one that gets me really energized. I've seen a lot of association business models during the years, but I've never seen one quite like NWFA's. What I mean is that most associations are interchangeable as far as the basic networking, education, and advocacy that they provide. The NWFA that [Korczak] has led and grown is different because the operations, products, and services are all built around very specific industry and member needs.

To name a few, the NWFA schools, mill inspections, installation guidelines, degree and certification programs are all custom-designed for this industry. Members can't get them anywhere else. The schools are a great example of an association taking the lead by providing more consistent training than any one manufacturer could do on its own. And support and cooperation that the manufacturers provide in this specific area are best-in-class.

The philosophy of creating products and services that can only be found through the association has been the driving force behind [Korczak]'s tenure and that philosophy will continue to serve NWFA well as we move forward.

Q: What are some of the things that you think that you will bring to the NWFA?
A: I'm a big believer that associations should provide the right tools to help members do their jobs easier, better, and faster.
Technology will also enable us to extend the reach of the NWFA in the consumer space and in targeting specific audiences like interior designers. With social media and internet marketing, for example, we have a low-cost way of expanding NWFA as the official voice of wood flooring. Whether a homeowner is looking for the right hardwood, a designer needs to figure out the exact engineered product for a specific application, or a publication needs input for an article on maintenance, we want to be the best source for those answers.

During the last few weeks, we have developed and launched our social media platform on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. At our tradeshow at the end of April, we will also unveil an NWFA smartphone application designed to allow for two-way communication between attendees and exhibitors, as well as provide event updates, reminders, and session handouts.

Overall, I believe technology is important in keeping the association moving forward, and we will look for new and innovative ways to use it to serve the specific needs of our industry.

Q: What do you want the wood flooring industry to know about you?
A: I believe that effective business leaders have to be energetic and have passion for what they do. In addition, an effective association leader has to cultivate and build relationships.

While technology has enabled us all to work faster and more efficiently, the most important priority for me is to talk, and more importantly, listen, to our members' concerns so that the association can address what's most important to them.

Q: Where do you see the NWFA going in the future? How are you planning to lead the organization there?
A: The four most important things NWFA can provide are training, standards, networking, and representation of the industry in the rest of the world.

We will continue to invest in the future by developing new training opportunities. In addition to the training facility we have in St. Louis, we just opened a multi-lingual training center in Las Vegas and are working with AHEC to bring students there from Mexico. We also continue to offer training in New York City, and as the economy improves, we will have more opportunities to bring training to additional geographies and grow the number of active students.

The newest versions of our installation guidelines will be published electronically as they are revised, so that the guidelines are never out of date. On the manufacturing side of the business, a standard for pre-finished wood is just being released and we are in the process of rolling out an NWFA approved product program that will serve as a seal of approval for industry products.

While our annual wood flooring expo and education conference is our best in-person way of networking, we want to extend our interaction through the use of our list serves, social media, blogs, and video. In addition, we'll be looking at new ways to bring the association to the members in more geographic areas in the future.

From participating in legislative actions to advocating for the use of wood flooring to consumers and environmental groups, the NWFA will continue to represent the industry with a voice of expertise. One of the most critical roles we serve for our members at the local level is to advocate for them in the national and global arenas. If NWFA can demonstrate the environmental benefits of installing wood flooring and produce consumer interest on a large scale, we can provide a pipeline back to the local level where our members can meet that demand with their services.